Speak No Evil_ A Novel - Allison Brennan [48]
Dillon nodded soberly. “I concur.”
Carina stared at the ceiling, anger and frustration building. They had more to go on, but with every comment Dillon and Nick shared, her suspect seemed less and less guilty. “God, why would he do that?”
“It’s part of the fantasy. He wanted to feel her life fade away.”
They parted company with Dillon on the street. He left in a black Lexus, and Nick walked with Carina and Will to the police station. He surmised that their silence was because of the intense, disturbing conversation they’d had at the restaurant, not because they were still uneasy around him as a relative of a suspect.
“I have a proposition,” he said.
Carina stopped outside the main doors of the station and leaned against the base of a statue. Nick couldn’t help but notice her lips. A hint of shiny gloss highlighted full, kissable lips. The rest of her long, lean body and her probing eyes said cop, stand back, but her lips spoke loud and clear: kiss me.
Her brow furrowed. Nick realized he’d been staring at her lips a beat too long. “What?” she prompted.
“I’ll bring Steve down to the police station, with a lawyer present, and you ask him anything. I’ll make sure he answers. I think with the right questions maybe he has some answers we need to find this killer.”
“We?”
“I want to be part of your investigation.”
“Why? Let’s say we clear your brother. He won’t need you here, you can go back to your own job.”
Returning to Montana was the last thing Nick wanted to do. He wasn’t ready to make the decision that would change his life, no matter what choice he made.
But more than his personal problems, Angie had gotten to him. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. “I went to Angie’s journal,” he said tightly, unable to keep the emotion out of his voice. “I read between the lines. She was crying out for help and none of her friends knew or understood. I just—I want to find her killer. She deserves justice, and you know as well as I do that once the press figures out what’s going on, they’ll destroy this girl’s reputation. She doesn’t deserve that, and her grieving family doesn’t deserve it.”
“And if your brother says something you don’t like?”
“I’ve already answered that,” he said, angry. “My credentials are solid.”
He stared at Carina, trying to read her mind. She stared back, her face blank as she considered his suggestion. Without taking her eyes from his, she asked her partner, “Will, do you have a problem with it?”
“No.”
She nodded curtly. “You’re in. But we play by my rules.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Nick said, surprised that he was relieved that it hadn’t been more difficult. He smiled. “My mama told me women are always right.”
Carina watched, surprised into silence, as Nick followed Will up the stairs. Women are always right?
After the intense meeting with Dillon, and Nick’s sharp analysis—he’d certainly impressed Dillon, not an easy feat—she knew the easygoing country sheriff act was just that, an act. Nick Thomas wasn’t an ordinary country cop. In fact, he was extraordinary. There was far more depth to Nick Thomas than he wanted anyone to see.
Good thing Carina liked digging.
FOURTEEN
AS SOON AS HE ARRIVED BACK at his brother’s apartment, Nick confronted Steve. “You lied to me.”
Steve frowned, rubbed his chin. “I’ve never lied to you, Nick.”
“Bullshit.” Nick had been harboring anger for the entire drive back from the police station. Partly because of the unnerving information he’d learned about Angie’s torture and death, and partly because his brother wasn’t the man he’d always believed him to be.
“You lied to me about Angie being the only college girl you dated.”
“I think you have it wrong.” But Steve averted his eyes. Lying.
Nick sat down. This wasn’t going like he had planned. He tried to remain as calm as possible. “Steve, sit down. Please.”
Steve stiffly sat in the chair across from Nick. Nick saw the lines framing his brother’s eyes, his tanned skin looking dry and leathery. Too much fun in the sun. Steve still had